Thank you for taking the time to read the first entry of At Attention with Chuck Sourbeer where I keep our readers up to date with the great things IHG® Army Hotels is doing. Stay tuned for future entries.
It’s been 10 years since we began the partnership between the Privatization of Army Lodging (PAL) program and IHG® Army Hotels, and the initiative has been a major success across the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
It’s always been our purpose at IHG® Army Hotels to offer hospitality for our heroes, their families and civilians, with services and amenities tailored to meet the needs of military travel. For the last ten years, we’ve provided best-in-class offerings at every IHG® Army Hotel property, like complimentary breakfast, free guest laundry, weekly barbecue socials, high-speed Internet access and pet-friendly accommodations. Our investment in a military-tailored guest experience isn’t limited to the services we offer – it’s also reflected in the company we keep. Colleagues at IHG® Army Hotels often have decades of experience on-post and the knowledge of the military lifestyle has proven essential in delivering an outstanding guest experience.
From our first branded IHG® Army Hotel, Holiday Inn Express® on Fort Polk, to the creation of our Historia Collection™, a group of on-post historic buildings converted to unique hotel accommodations, we have made strides to support the military lifestyle both on and off-post. Over the last decade, we have reinvested our resources in the local military communities across the country.
Our hotels have donated more than $740,000 to the Fisher House network of houses, which provides comfort homes where military and veterans’ families can stay free of charge while a loved one is in the hospital. We also support various U.S. Army Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) programs throughout the year. While we invest in our service members and their families, we make sure to also reinvest in our ability to provide a higher level of hospitality.
Our team offers skills development and employment opportunities for young people interested in careers in hospitality. IHG® Army Hotels Teen Academy, offers students of current employees the opportunity to gain hands-on job training where participating teens are paired with an employee to learn laundry, housekeeping, breakfast, and house person skills. Teens give back through car washes, back-to-school drives, and landscaping projects for local non-profits and raising money for Fisher House. We’re happy that many who have gone through the program have returned as full-time employees at an IHG® Army Hotel.
It’s been a privilege to provide true hospitality to our military guests and their families these past 10 years, and we’re looking forward to continuing our growth over the next decade.
Charles “Chuck” Sourbeer is Vice President of Operations for IHG® Army Hotels. He has been with IHG® since 1994 and part of the IHG® Army Hotels estate since its inception in 2009.